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Pat's Race Report from Las Vegas Classic
9/17/05 - 9/18/05 Las Vegas, NV
After the last round at Arroyo Seco, I would be getting my 999r back
from Duc Shop. Mark Sutton
knows his way around a Ducati and did an amazing job on my bike. The
shifting problem was fixed and the bike gained 18 horsepower. It
turned out that the transmission was probably misadjusted from the
factory and I probably damaged it in a crash last year. Italy pretty
much shuts down the month of August and it was taking a long time to get
my damage gears replaced. Mark came up with a good idea. He had a 999RS
close ratio transmission sitting at his shop ready to install. And in it
went. The bike has 62 mm exhaust from a WSBK team and an actual Corse
tail section from the Ducati Austin AMA factory team. I planned on only
riding the 999r this weekend, it’s been almost four months since I last
rode the bike.
Tom and I drove up to Las Vegas on Thursday and were staying at the
Cannery Hotel and Casino again. When we got to the track on Friday
morning, there were hardly anybody there. Last year CCS had a Pacific
region also and we would get a lot of racers from California. After the
cancellation of the Pacific region our grids have almost dwindled to
nothing. There couldn’t have been more than 35 riders present for the
Friday track day. At the last Firebird round the expert Super Twins grid
had one racer (me) and the first race had only two racers. Ducati has
stepped up big with their contingency program. They pay $500 for a win
and $300, $200 for second and third. The only catch is that we need a
minimum of five racers on the grid. At the track day, I asked Dale
Keiffer if he would like to ride my 749r in the two twins races. Dale is
super fast and had previously came in third in AMA 750 Supersport. Dale
is also the local Michelin tire rep and an instructor at Freddie
Spencer’s Riding School. There would be another fast Ducati rider in
this race. Vince Chu lives in Las Vegas and this is his home track. I
figured Dale and Vince would fight for the win and I would take third.
My previous best at this track was a low 1:27. At the track day, I was
easily able to drop into the low 1:26s. I set a goal to get into the
1:24s this weekend. Riding the big bike was a hand full. I had only been
riding the 749r and there is about a 40 horsepower difference. It was
fun having the power to pass people on the straights. I found that my
standard 15/38 gearing couldn’t even get the bike moving. Once, I was
able to get rolling (with a lot of clutch slip) first gear was good for
well over 100 mph. I put the shortest gearing I had (14/39). It wasn’t
perfect, but at least I could get into third gear on the straight.
After Friday’s track day, the whole BSR team (including Ken) went to the
Mexican restaurant at the Cannery for dinner. After dinner, Tom and I
played some Blackjack. I promptly lost $300. I’m still ahead in my
gambling career, but it’s getting pretty close to even. Both of us were
in bed by 10:30 PM. I awoke at 3:00 AM with a huge headache. I couldn’t
go back to sleep and felt awful the whole day. It felt like I was out
drinking all night. I planned on doing two races on the 999r (Super
Twins and HWSB). Those were races 12 and 15. Way too long without
getting on the track, so I entered GTU on the 749r. I felt like crap the
whole race and finished sixth. I skipped the Heavyweight Superbike race
and did the Super Twins race. Dale got the holeshot and quickly went
after the expert Unlimited Superbike riders gridded in front. Dale was
able to pass all but one, for first in Super Twins and second overall. I
was not able to keep Vince in my sights and finished a distant third.
The results were good for $700 in Ducati contingency.
After the races, Tom and I had a good steak dinner and were in bed by
9:30 PM. Yes, Saturday night in Las Vegas and sleeping by 9:30 PM. On
Sunday, I felt 100 times better. My first race was GTO. At the start, I
over shot turn one and reentered in last place. I work my way up to
second place behind Tom. It’s nice having some power! Tom slips away and
I’m unable to keep pace. At the half way point, I’m getting pretty tired
(these GTO races are long!). I figure we’ll have a BSR one-two. On the
second to last lap, as I enter turn seven, I see Tom well off the track.
It looks like I’m in first place! I see that the second place rider is
pretty close. As I try to get a gap out of turn one, the rear tire
starts to slide and I’m thinking “Here I go again”. I stomp my foot on
the ground and save it. I do a quick check to see if my shorts are clean
(they are) and pull a three second gap to win my first expert non Super
Twins race. I would much rather beat Tom on the track, but a win is a
win. CCS also pays out $175 in race certificates to the winner. I check
the time sheets and see that I did a 1:24.9 early in the race. My times
were much slower in the latter stages of the race. I need to work on my
consistency.
The Super Twins race was much the same as Saturday. Dale and Vince took
off and I finished a distant third. Again, another $700 in Ducati
Contingency. Dale was able to do string together four laps at 1:21.9. He
could have easily been two seconds faster on the 999r. The next race was
Heavyweight Superbike and I left turn one in fifth. I was able to pass
one rider and finish fourth. I was close to Brian in third, but could
never get close enough to him.
After the GTO race, I put on new tires, but was not able to improve my
times. I found that I take too many brakes on the track. I need to give
100% from the green flag to the checkered. Overall, it was a great
weekend. The turnout was poor and I hope next year the grids are bigger.
After racing with AFM and having 30+ open twins on the grid, we are
cheating ourselves racing with these very small grids. Mike had a small
crash in his last race of the day on Sunday. He’s fine and will race the
next weekend at Firebird East. It was fun having the four of us back
together at the races. The last few races have been just Tom and I. At
the Vegas round last year, I was ahead of Tom before I crashed. This
year, the old man is flying! His best time was a 1:21.0. If I can’t keep
up with him anymore, at least I could help him get faster. Tom and I
will be headed to Fontana for three days of riding and racing on the AMA
track with WERA West.
I’d like to thank my teammates, Tom, Mike, and Brian. Thanks also to my
sponsors, Section 8 Superbike, Speedymoto, Moto Wheels, Duc Shop,
Vortex, Sidi, Motorex, Desert Truss, Savoca Construction, Universal
forest Products, All Out Graphics, Vesrah Brakes, Lockhart Phillips,
Racer’s Edge, Suomy.
A big thanks goes out to the crew at Duc Shop (Mark, Wendy) for building
a bike that is far better than I’ll ever be.
Pat Bushell
#468
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